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Book Fridays: La ultima noche que pase contigo by Mayra Montero

It has been a while since a book angered me this much. I picked up this book on a whim on a recent library trip. I happened upon their collection of Spanish literature and this book caught my eye. I had no idea what I was in for. Because I will be quoting this book I will be writing this post in Spanish. For those interested, this book is racist and I don’t mean there is a racist character set straight by another character that speaks sense. This book has some of the most blatant, despicable depictions of casual racism. It is not something new, Latino culture is rife with racism and this book is a perfect example of it. Of note is the author’s disregard for the harmful and historically racist depiction of black people as monkeys. In the book the female protagonist has sex with a black man and upon returning to her stateroom her husband remarks that she “smells like a monkey”. That the author chose to describe her smell as such after sleeping with a black man should tell you everything you need to know.

I do not make it a habit to write about books that I rate very poorly. Mostly because I am very diligent in my selection process but also because most of the time not liking a book is subjective. This is not one such instance. I can’t keep silent about this book.

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About Me

I am a reader, blogger, and cookie recipe enthusiast. As a recovering phoboc, I spend a lot of time talking about anxiety and how it affects my life. I like to share experiences, perspectives, inspiration, and photographs.